252 F.3d 28 (1st Cir.

2001)

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS GROUP, INC.; FORM HOUSE

HOLDINGS, INC., Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
PENTZER CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 01-1146

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST

CIRCUIT
Heard May 8, 2001
Decided June 5, 2001
1

Lawrence A. Wojcik with whom Sonya D. Naar, Raj N. Shaw, Piper Marbury
Rudnick & Wolfe, Edward P. Leibensperger, Marc A. Polk, Nutter, McClennen
& Fish, LLP, were on brief for defendant-appellant Pentzer Corporation.

Mark D. Cahill with whom Robert A. Kole and Choate, Hall & Stewart were
on brief for plaintiffs-appellees Creative Solutions Group, Inc. and Form House
Holdings, Inc.

Before Boudin, Circuit Judge, Bownes, Senior Circuit Judge, and Schwarzer,*
Senior District Judge.

SCHWARZER, Senior District Judge.

This case presents the question of whether the disputes between the parties are
subject to arbitration under their agreement and, to the extent they are, if
arbitration has been waived.

The case arises out of an agreement ("the Agreement") by which plaintiffs

Creative Solutions Group (through its predecessor, Heritage Fund II Investment
Corporation--"Heritage") purchased the capital stock of five companies known
as Creative Solutions Group, Inc. from defendant Pentzer Corporation
("Pentzer"). Pentzer and Heritage entered into the Agreement on March 31,
1999, the closing date for the transaction. The stipulated purchase price, based
on December 31, 1998, financial statements, was subject to post-closing
adjustments made pursuant to procedures delineated in the Agreement. To that

end, the Agreement required Pentzer to deliver to Heritage certain financial

information called the Purchase Price Financials, which reflected the position
of the companies as of March 31, 1999. Heritage had the right under the
Agreement to review related work papers of Deloitte & Touche, Pentzer's
auditors. The Agreement provided that "in the event that [Heritage or its
accountants] dispute any portion of [Pentzer's] calculation of any of the
Purchase Price Financials," notice shall be given to Pentzer and, if the dispute
is not resolved, it shall be submitted to arbitration. The Agreement further
provided for adjustment of the purchase price to the extent the March 31, 1999,
book value or net worth of the five companies being purchased differed from
the book value or net worth as of December 31, 1998.
7

Following the closing, Pentzer delivered the Purchase Price Financials to

Heritage on August 5, 1999, and advised that as a result of the Deloitte &
Touche audit, Heritage was entitled to an adjustment of the purchase price in
addition to the adjustment agreed on at the closing. Heritage then requested
access to the Deloitte & Touche work papers pursuant to the terms of the
Agreement, but the parties were unable to arrive at mutually satisfactory terms
for access and Heritage never received the papers.

Plaintiffs filed this action on April 7, 2000, stating causes of action for breach
of certain representations and warranties in the Agreement, breach of the
implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, negligent
misrepresentation, and violation of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A
(1997) ("Regulation of Business Practices for Consumers Protection"). In
support of these causes of action, plaintiffs alleged three breaches of the
Agreement by Pentzer: (1) overstatement of the companies' 1998 earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (the EBITDA claim); (2)
overstatement of the companies' net worth as of March 31, 1999 (the NWO
claim); and (3) failure of two companies to comply with OSHA (29 U.S.C. 651678) standards. The last claim is not an issue in this appeal.

Pentzer waived formal service of the complaint and at the end of the sixty-day
period obtained an extension to plead to July 6, 2000, when it moved to dismiss
four of the six counts of the complaint. Plaintiffs served partial initial
disclosures on July 25, 2000. Because damage computations were not included,
Pentzer made a request for them. On August 11, 2000, plaintiffs served
document requests on Pentzer. On September 7, 2000, Pentzer invoked the
dispute resolution procedure under the Agreement, including a demand for
arbitration. Plaintiffs did not respond and Pentzer, on September 11, 2000,
moved to compel arbitration.

10

On November 13, 2000, the district court ruled on the motion. It held that
plaintiffs' claims were not based on mistakes of accounting in the Purchase
Price Financials, but on the overall course of the negotiations leading up to the
Agreement. Accordingly, the dispute was not one over the calculation of any of
the Purchase Price Financials subject to the arbitration clause, but over
Pentzer's representations and warranties concerning the financial strength of the
companies. Because the court concluded "that the majority of the plaintiffs'
claims relate not to the Purchase Price Financials," it denied the motion.

11

Pentzer moved for reconsideration. On January 5, 2001, the court reaffirmed its
prior order. The court specifically addressed the NWO claim, which expressly
concerns calculation of the final purchase price derived from the Purchase Price
Financials. While the court found this claim to be governed by the arbitration
agreement, it held that Pentzer had waived its right to arbitrate. It found that
plaintiffs had been prejudiced by Pentzer and Deloitte & Touche's failure to
turn over accounting records and work papers, forcing plaintiffs to seek to
compel production, investigate the suspected fraud, and commence the
litigation, incurring legal expenses along the way. Pentzer had also caused
plaintiffs to incur legal expense by making discovery requests and refusing to
return settlement documents to plaintiffs. Given the narrow scope of this
arbitration agreement, the court found that it would be inefficient to require
plaintiffs to arbitrate the NWO claim while simultaneously or subsequently
litigating the far more substantial EBITDA and OSHA claims. The court
denied the motion and denied a stay pending appeal.

12

The district court had jurisdiction of the action under 28 U.S.C. 1332. We have
appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1292 and under the Federal Arbitration
Act, 9 U.S.C. G16.

13

I. WHICH CLAIMS ARE SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION?

14

Arbitration is "simply a matter of contract between the parties; it is a way to

resolve the disputes--but only those disputes--that the parties have agreed to
submit to arbitration." Coady v. Ashcraft & Gerel, 223 F.3d 1, 10 (1st Cir.
2000) (quoting First Options of Chicago, Inc. v. Kaplan, 514 U.S. 938, 943, 131
L. Ed. 2d 985, 115 S. Ct. 1920 (1995)). "[A] party cannot be required to submit
to arbitration any dispute which he has not agreed so to submit." AT&T Tech.
v. Communications Workers, 475 U.S. 643, 648, 89 L. Ed. 2d 648, 106 S. Ct.
1415 (1986) (quoting United Steelworkers of Am. v. Warrior & Gulf
Navigation Co., 363 U.S. 574, 582, 4 L. Ed. 2d 1409, 80 S. Ct. 1347 (1960)).

15

We agree with the district court that the EBITDA claim of misrepresentation in
the companies' December 31, 1998, financial statement is not a claim the
parties agreed to submit to arbitration. Article 2.6 of the Agreement represents
that those statements "fairly present[] the financial condition and results of
operation of the [companies]." Article 10.1 provides that Pentzer shall
indemnify, defend, and hold plaintiffs harmless from any loss arising from a
breach by Pentzer of any representation or warranty. And Article 10.7 states
that "the provisions of this Article 10 shall be the sole and exclusive remedy . . .
for all claims of breach . . . pursuant to this Agreement. . . ." Thus, not only
does the exclusive remedy provision govern the EBITDA claim relating to the
December 31, 1998, statements, but the arbitration agreement, by its terms, also
excludes them. Article 1.6, the arbitration provision, deals with "Calculation of
Final Closing Date Purchase Price." It concerns only "disputes [over] any
portion of [Pentzer's] calculation of any of the Purchase Price Financials." The
Purchase Price Financials, in turn, consist of the financial statements of the
companies as of the closing date (March 31, 1999, also the valuation date) with
supporting calculations.

16

Pentzer argues that the EBITDA claim is a dispute over the Purchase Price
Financials, because the factual allegations underlying plaintiffs' complaint
could be resolved by an independent arbitrator reviewing the Purchase Price
Financials. It is true, as Pentzer argues, that the closing date financial
statements would reflect the historical financial record of the companies.
However, it does not follow that if the closing date statements correctly reflect
the results of operations as of March 31, 1999, those financial statements for
the preceding periods were also correct. In other words, it would be fallacious
to say that if there were no inventory overstatements as of March 31, 1999,
none resided in the December 31, 1998, or earlier statements.

17

Plaintiffs' claim of net worth overstatement in the March 31, 1999, financial
statements, on the other hand, falls squarely within the arbitration provision's
scope. While a portion of the NWO claim may reflect the EBITDA shortfall
during the prior periods, some $ 800,000 allegedly is attributable to insufficient
net worth adjustments in the Purchase Price Financials. We agree with the
district court that the NWO claim in the complaint is subject to arbitration. The
only question that remains is whether Pentzer waived its right to send the NWO
claim to arbitration.

18

II. WAS ARBITRATION WAIVED?

19

In considering whether a party has waived its arbitration right, courts are

consistently mindful of the strong federal policy favoring arbitration. The

Supreme Court has stated that any doubt concerning arbitrability "should be
resolved in favor of arbitration, whether the problem at hand is the construction
of the contract language itself or an allegation of waiver, delay, or a like
defense to arbitrability." Moses H. Cone Mem'l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr.
Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 25, 74 L. Ed. 2d 765, 103 S. Ct. 927 (1983). "Waiver is not
to be lightly inferred, and mere delay in seeking [arbitration] without some
resultant prejudice to a party cannot carry the day." Page v. Moseley,
Hallgarten, Estabrook & Weeden, Inc., 806 F.2d 291, 293 (1st Cir. 1986)
(quoting Rush v. Oppenheimer & Co., 779 F.2d 885 (2d Cir. 1985)), abrogated
on other grounds, Shearson/Am. Express, Inc. v. McMahon, 482 U.S. 220, 96
L. Ed. 2d 185, 107 S. Ct. 2332 (1987). "We have repeatedly held that a party
may, by engaging in litigation, implicitly waive its contractual right to
arbitrate." Navieros Inter-Americanos v. M/V VASILIA EXPRESS, 120 F.3d
304, 316 (1st Cir. 1997). But in order for plaintiffs to prevail on "their claim of
waiver, they must show prejudice." Menorah Ins. Co., Ltd. v. INX Reinsurance
Corp., 72 F.3d 218, 221 (1st Cir. 1995) (quoting Sevinor v. Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 807 F.2d 16, 18 (1st Cir. 1986)). This Circuit has
laid down a set of factors to guide the determination of whether a waiver has
occurred:
20

In determining whether a party to an arbitration agreement, usually a defendant,

has waived its arbitration right, federal courts typically have looked to whether
the party has actually participated in the lawsuit or has taken other action
inconsistent with his right, . . . whether the litigation machinery has been
substantially invoked and the parties were well into preparation of a lawsuit by
the time an intention to arbitrate was communicated by the defendant to the
plaintiff, . . . whether there has been a long delay in seeking the stay or whether
the enforcement of arbitration was brought up when trial was near at hand. . . .

21

Other relevant factors are whether the defendants have invoked the jurisdiction
of the court by filing a counterclaim without asking for a stay of the
proceedings, . . . whether important intervening steps (e.g., taking advantage of
judicial discovery procedures not available in arbitration . . .) had taken place, .
. . and whether the other party was affected, misled, or prejudiced by the delay.
. . . Jones Motor Co., Inc. v. Chauffeurs, Teamsters, and Helpers Local Union
No. 633, 671 F.2d 38, 44 (1st Cir. 1982) (quoting Reid Burton Constr. Inc. v.
Carpenters Dist. Council, 614 F.2d 698, 702 (10th Cir. 1980)). Review of a
district court's determination of waiver of arbitration is plenary. Navieros InterAmericanos, 120 F.3d at 316.

22

Pentzer filed its motion to compel arbitration on September 11, 2000, two

months after it was required to plead to the complaint (and five months after
plaintiffs filed the action). In pleading to the complaint, Pentzer moved to
dismiss, an appropriate responsive pleading. It initiated no formal discovery; in
response to plaintiffs' voluntary initial disclosure, it requested (but apparently
did not receive) the damage calculations omitted from the disclosure. See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)(C). No other activity had occurred in the lawsuit other than
plaintiffs' filing of a request for production. It could hardly be said that "the
litigation machinery had been substantially invoked and the parties were well
into preparation of a lawsuit by the time an intention to arbitrate was
communicated," Jones Motor Co., Inc., 671 F.2d at 44, or that Pentzer had
taken other steps inconsistent with its right to arbitration. See Williams v.
CIGNA Fin. Advisors, Inc., 56 F.3d 656, 661-62 (5th Cir. 1995) (holding that
removal to federal court, filing motion to dismiss and to stay discovery and
answer to complaint including compulsory counterclaim, and exchanging Rule
26 discovery did not substantially invoke judicial process).
23

In its January 5, 2001, order, the district court found, however, that plaintiffs
had shown prejudice. It relied principally on the failure of Deloitte & Touche to
turn over on plaintiffs' request the accounting records and work papers as
required by Article 1.6 of the Agreement. "Instead of a timely arbitration," the
court found, plaintiffs were forced to incur legal expense to compel production
of the records and work papers and commence this litigation. While it appears
that Deloitte-and, by extension, Pentzer-did not comply with their obligation
under the Agreement, there is no basis whatever for inferring that as a result
plaintiffs were forced into litigation instead of going to arbitration. Plaintiffs
have never made such an argument, and the district court itself appropriately
rejected the argument that the failure to turn over these documents was
sufficient to support a finding of waiver, their production not being a condition
precedent to the arbitration agreement. There does not appear to be any logical
connection between the failure to produce these documents and Pentzer's right
to arbitration. Moreover, the legal expense to compel their production would
have been incurred in any event because plaintiffs presumably would need
them to support their NWO claim regardless of whether this claim is arbitrated
or litigated. Prejudice is relevant to waiver when it is the product of a
defendant's failure to timely invoke the arbitration procedure. If there was
prejudice here, it was not because of a failure timely to request arbitration. Cf.
Navieros Inter-Americanos, 120 F.3d at 316.

24

Similarly unpersuasive is the district court's finding waiver because of the legal
expense incurred by plaintiffs in responding to Pentzer's discovery request and
litigating Pentzer's refusal to return settlement documents. As noted above,
Pentzer did not invoke formal discovery and only requested plaintiffs to

complete the initial disclosure they had voluntarily initiated by providing

damage calculations. As for the failure to return the settlement documents,
plaintiffs have offered no argument in this court that the legal expense of
compelling their return resulted in prejudice supporting a finding of waiver and
we are unable to discern any basis for one.
CONCLUSION
25

For the reasons stated, we AFFIRM the district court's order insofar as it found
the EBITDA claim not to be arbitrable and VACATE the order insofar as it
denied the motion to compel arbitration of plaintiffs' NWO claim and we
REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We leave it to
the district court's discretion whether to stay the litigation pending arbitration
of the NWO claim but we assume the court will defer entry of judgment until
all claims have been resolved.

26

It is so ordered.

Notes:
*

Of the Northern District of California, sitting by designation.